|
Ellmers reintroduces bill to shield farmers from Obamacare penalty
Story Date: 3/18/2015
| |
Source: PRESS RELEASE, 3/17/15
Congresswoman Renee Ellmers (R-NC-02) released the following statement this afternoon after reintroducing H.R. 1387 – The Fairness for Farmers Act of 2015:
Congresswoman Renee Ellmers (R-NC-02):
“While unintended consequences of Obamacare continue to surface, the employer mandate is just one of many that is directly impacting those in the Second District of North Carolina. This time around it is farmers who bear the burden, as many will be forced to comply with additional out-of-pocket fees which result in higher overhead costs and cuts to their hard-earned profit.”
“In order to ease concerns and prevent a subsequent rise in the cost of food, I have reintroduced the Fairness to Farmers Act. As agriculture remains a leading industry in North Carolina, it is essential that we do everything possible protect our farmers from burdensome government fines and unreasonable penalties.”
Congressman Ed Whitfield (R-KY-01):
“Farming is a way of life in Kentucky, and it is important for our farmers to have the stability and certainty they need to do their jobs. I am pleased to join Congresswoman Ellmers as a sponsor of this important legislation as I did in the last Congress. Subjecting farmers that utilize the H-2A visa program to the Obamacare employer mandate will have a detrimental impact on them.”
“Adding health care costs or penalties would only make farming operations more challenging and contribute to rising food prices for families across Kentucky and the U.S. Obamacare has been a disastrous policy, and I am committed to working with my colleagues to advance legislation that actually reforms our health care system and ensures Americans access to quality care unfettered by broken promises.”
This afternoon, Congresswoman Ellmers and Congressman Whitfield reintroduced H.R. ¬¬¬¬-1387 - The Fairness for Farmers Act of 2015. Joining this legislation as original co-sponsors are Representatives David Rouzer (R-NC-07), Walter Jones (R-NC-03), Robert Hurt (R-VA-05), Bob Gibbs (R-OH-07), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA-01) and Scott Tipton (R-CO-03).
Under the Affordable Care Act, employers are required to provide health insurance to all workers of a business that employs more than 50 “full-time equivalent” workers. This wide-ranging mandate includes seasonal agricultural workers in its calculation when determining if a business is required to provide health insurance or pay a penalty. This is just another example of the unintended consequences of this poorly-conceived law.
Subjecting farmers who use the H-2A visa program to the employer mandate will have a detrimental effect on an industry that depends on our guest worker programs. The H-2A program is already overly-complicated and expensive. Farmers have to pay recruitment costs, visa fees, transportation, and housing on top of offering the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (a minimum wage meant to prevent U.S. workers from being disadvantaged). To add healthcare costs or penalties to this would make many farming operations unprofitable. Furthermore, labor-intensive crops will be disproportionately harmed, and many farmers may simply halt their operations.
North Carolina is the number one producer of sweet potatoes and tobacco in the country. These crops require labor-intensive work and subjecting farmers to the employee mandate will cause significant economic consequences for the state and the economy. The mandate will also adversely affect other specialty crops such as melons, berries and cucumbers. Moreover, it would be hard to claim that the Affordable Care Act was meant to cover foreign nationals – who, by their very nature, are here as temporary visa workers. This was never the intention and The Fairness for Farmers Act will immediately address this unfair burden to our nation’s food producers.
Click Here to view ¬¬¬¬¬H.R. 1387 - The Fairness for Farmers Act of 2015.
https://col125.mail.live.com/?tid=cm45UHGODM5BGeoQAeC8tzjA2&fid=flinbox
Congresswoman Renee Ellmers serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and is
Chairwoman of the Republican Women’s Policy Committee.
She represents the Second District of North Carolina which includes all of Fort Bragg.
|
|
|
|
